Seven Psychologically Sound Ways to Deal with Angry, Irate or Emotionally Difficult Customers
Every laundromat owner is going to come face to face with angry, difficult or emotionally challenging customers from time to time. After all, you can’t please everyone.
Dealing with unhappy customers will never be easy unless you understand the psychology of the customer. Yes, there are proven methods – grounded in science – for handling such customers. After all, it’s important to defuse emotionally charged situations by responding in emotionally intelligent ways.
Emotional intelligence, or EI, is the ability to maintain control and regulate your own feelings. This is not the same as intellectual intelligence, which is based on your total knowledge as an individual.
Here are seven steps to take when attempting to defuse a difficult customer when such a situation arises:
Always address them by name. You can use either a first or a last name, depending on how you perceive them and what you think they would prefer. Or, you can ask them at the start of the conversation what they prefer. Also, ask them what they would like to call you.
Try interjecting the person’s name into the conversation in a natural manner. You can develop the habit of using a few easy-to-include phrases – such as “I hear what you’re saying, Mrs. Wilson,” or “Thank you so much for explaining the issue so well, John.”
Try to insert the customer’s name into the conversation as often as possible, but not so often as to appear condescending. Just address the individual as you would an unhappy friend.
Practice perceptive listening. To show that you’re truly listening and placing validation on the customer’s concerns can go a long way toward solving the problem. Perhaps use the phrase, “What I’m hearing is that you’re frustrated because we have no large machines available” (or whatever the specific issue may be). Repeating what the customer just said in this way indicates that you are engaged, listening and understanding the customer’s problem.
Understand the degree of upset. This requires empathy, which is the ability to feel the customer’s pain without judging it. You’re showing that you’re truly tuned in to what the person is saying and the feelings that surround what is being said. Make no mistake, empathetic listening can be tiring – it requires you to bring all of your attention to the conversation. However, by doing so, you will find that the results are quite often worth it.
Approach the conversation on the same level as the customer. Most likely, you have more knowledge and experience in the laundry world than the angry customer, but you need to approach the situation without pointing out that difference. In other words, approach the customer almost as a beginner, or with what Zen Buddhists might refer to as “shoshin,” which translates to “the beginner’s mind.”
Take the total problem, and dissect it into its various components. Often, a customer will come to you with a multi-faceted problem. In such cases, the best practice is to divide such large issues into smaller ones, which typically are easier to solve.
If a problem is large and complex, it also may be a good idea to write it down, which not only will make it easier to deal with but also will show the customer that you’re interested in the issue and in making things right.
Display empathy, versus sympathy. Sympathy is rarely effective in dealing with a customer problem. On the other hand, empathy permits you to be professional and, at the same time, demonstrate that you care.
Control yourself at all times. When dealing with an angry customer, it can become difficult to resist the urge to become angry or upset yourself. Don’t give in to this temptation and lose your cool. Make sure everything remains under control. Don’t contribute to the problem by becoming a part of it.
If you follow the techniques outlined above, I think you’ll find that the most powerful ambassadors for your laundromat will be all of your happy and satisfied customers.
